Travel Health

Useful External Links

Travel Health

Lowfield Medical Centre is a Yellow Fever Centre. Please make appointments with the Practice Nurse for your Yellow Fever vaccinations. We also provide a vaccination service for holiday/work vaccination requirements. Please ask at Reception for details of the fees of the various vaccinations.

It may be helpful to consult with the Fit for Travel (www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk) before making your appointment as this will give you more information about immunisations and the time needed to complete the course before travelling. It will also give you more information about the country to which you are travelling and any particular health problems i.e. malaria. We urge you to allow plenty of time when embarking on a course of immunisations (2 months).

Typhoid VaccineThere is a worldwide shortage of typhoid vaccine and we will not be able to get any supplies until the end of July.

There is a possibility that the MASTA clinics have some as they are manufacturers and can supply their own clinics. There is a clinic at Bluewater and a few in London, but it is best to telephone first to check they have vaccine.

Advice for people going on Long Haul Air Flights

In the light of publicity concerning DVT on long haul air flights (those over four hours) we thought some simple guidelines on how to prevent such a problem would be of use to our patients. It has been well known for a long time that periods of prolonged sitting and lying may give rise to a blood clot developing in a vein in the leg. This seems to be due to the inability of the muscle pump in the calves to do a proper job.

Wear comfortable shoes and on really long flights take a pair of slippers and put these on instead of shoes.

It is wise to drink plenty of fluids during the journey. Cabin crew are told to drink a pint an hour to avoid dehydration. Try to avoid alcoholic drinks as these will cause dehydration.

Make a conscious effort to clench the foot and calf muscles every fifteen minutes and try to have a little walk around and stretch every hour during the flight. This will help keep the muscle pump working properly.

There does not seem to be any good evidence that taking Aspirin is of any use in preventing DVT in a normal person. However, there are some people who have had DVT’s in the past or who are at special risk of DVT for a variety of reasons who may need medical intervention. We would advise these people to discuss this with the practice nurse and/or the doctor.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to discuss these with the nurse or doctor.